


Seven Days, Four Men, and a Wyvern

by papersandals (laronmi)



Series: Elibe Modern Verse [4]
Category: Fire Emblem, Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-04
Updated: 2012-02-04
Packaged: 2017-10-30 14:11:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/332600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laronmi/pseuds/papersandals
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Modern AU. Heath, Legault, Linus, and Lloyd transport a wyvern from Bern to Etruria. It goes about as well as expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Seven Days, Four Men, and a Wyvern

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Samuraiter for the beta job. Written for the first round of the Fire Emblem Big Bang.

**Day 1 — 06:00**  
  
"Hyperion is one of the only four wyverns in the world born in captivity," Vaida said, looking over the three men and the transport vehicle with narrow eyes and a critical expression. "If _anything_ happens to it, I'll track you worms down and force feed you your own testicles. Got it?"  
  
The purple-haired one raised an eyebrow, the blond one nodded, and the big one looked like he was trying to stifle a laugh. Vaida scowled, stretching the scar running down the left side of her face in the process.  
  
"Is something funny?"  
  
The other two turned the big one, who managed to look arrogant and embarrassed all at once. "N-nothing," he said, covering up his laughter with a cough. "Nothing at all. ...Sir."  
  
For a moment, Vaida looked like she was going to sic one of the wyverns on him, but much to Heath's relief, she just turned, the heels of her boots scraping against the gravel, and walked over to Hyperion. She patted the wyvern on the neck and then turned to Heath, who was rubbing Hyperion's snout and trying to pretend that he hadn't been eavesdropping too much.  
  
"If any of those maggots try to do something funny, stab them and call me. I'll come flying on Umbriel; he can eat the bodies."  
  
"I'm afraid that would be a breach of contract," the purple-haired-guy said.  
  
Vaida glared at him, but the purple-haired-guy seemed to be unaffected. Next to him, the blond stepped forward and smiled.  
  
"On the Fang's honor, we won't let a thing happen to this wyvern. We'll see him safely to Etruria."  
  
"You'd better. And make sure Heath comes back in one piece, too."  
  
"We will. Now, what's the best way to get the wyvern to go into the truck?"  
  
Vaida gave him a sinister smirk. "Figure it out yourself. That's what we're paying you for. Heath! Let's go back in. I've got a few things I need to tell you before you leave."  
  
  
 **Day 1 — 08:09**  
  
"So," Linus said, "what'd Etruria want a wyvern for anyway?"  
  
Heath, who sat behind him in the state-of-the-art, climate-controlled animal transport vehicle, shrugged. "I'm not sure. Vaida knows why, but she didn't tell me the specifics. All I know is that they want to examine a live wyvern for some sort of study."  
  
Lloyd turned back so that Heath could see him. "And that was all it took? I'm not knowledgeable about common animals, much less wyverns, but I can't think that a rare specimen like that would be transported across the continent just because someone asked."  
  
"Yeah," Linus added, turning back as well to speak to Heath. "I mean, it doesn't take a genius to realize that transporting a giant, violent, flying lizard across two countries isn't just something that happens on a regular basis."  
  
"Watch the road," Lloyd said, and Linus muttered a quick sorry before turning to focus on his driving again.  
  
"I really don't know," Heath said, making sure that he was properly buckled in just in case. "Etruria found something big, apparently, and they need a wyvern to finish or prove whatever it was they found. And wyverns aren't that violent." He paused and remembered Umbriel. "Most wyverns aren't that violent. Hyperion's as gentle as a lamb."  
  
Sitting next to him, Legault said just barely loud enough for everyone to hear, "A giant, flying, scaly lamb with teeth sharp enough to kill us, yes."  
  
Linus snorted in laughter. "What, Legault, you're afraid of the thing?"  
  
Legault sighed and leaned back in the seat. "I'm not fond of animals; you know that. They're too much like small children."  
  
"Hyperion is smarter than most young kids," Heath said. "He can not only understand what we're saying just fine, but wyverns are actually quite good at reading body language. It's been proven that people used them for warfare in ancient times because they would be able to predict infantry soldiers' actions by watching the way they moved."  
  
Legault turned to stare at him. "He can understand human speech."  
  
"More or less. He can't understand anything complex or technical, but he can respond to commands and can tell when people are talking about him."  
  
Legault turned completely around, kneeling in his seat as he looked at Hyperion. The wyvern opened one eye and stared straight back. Legault frowned and turned back around, slouching a little bit as he sat down properly again.  
  
"Better watch out what you say, Legault," Lloyd said. "Hyperion might get offended."  
  
"Wonderful," Legault said, giving a dramatic sigh as he placed his feet on the center console between Lloyd and Linus. "If it weren't for all the eye candy around me right now, I'd seriously consider dropping this assignment."  
  
"I dunno," Linus said as he turned back to smirk at Legault. "I don't think the lizard swings that way."  
  
"Watch the road," Lloyd said.  
  
"Right. Sorry."  
  
  
 **Day 1 — 12:21**  
  
Legault sniffed, made a face, and then said, "What is that smell?"  
  
Heath looked back as Linus and Lloyd also sniffed. "Oh. Hyperion just went. We'll have clean that up whenever we—"  
  
"Pulling over right now," Linus said as he slowed the truck.  
  
"—stop next. We're on the middle of the interstate!"  
  
"Pulling over. _Right. Now._ "  
  
  
 **Day 1 — 15:50**  
  
"How much does it eat?" Linus asked as he watched Heath dump more food into Hyperion's bowl. "Shit, how much does it cost to feed?"  
  
Heath shrugged and tossed the last of the meat into the bowl, patting the wyvern fondly on the back of his neck as it devoured its meal. "A lot less than you probably think. We get a lot of food from farms and slaughterhouses. Anything that they can't sell to the public they give to us for a small price."  
  
"And that's enough to feed all the ones you got up there?"  
  
"Most days, yeah."  
  
Linus whistled, clearly impressed by Hyperion's appetite. "Man, and my family calls **me** a big eater."  
  
"You are a big eater," Lloyd said as he tossed a bag of chips to Linus. "You and dad are the reason why our grocery bills are always so high."  
  
"Like you don't eat your fair share as well," Linus said, opening the bag and reaching in to pull out two chips. "You eat just as much as we do."  
  
The two kept up their light bickering as they returned to their seats. Heath cleaned up the back of the truck a little more before hopping out and closing the back door. Legault continued to watch Hyperion eat until the back door shut completely and was locked.  
  
"I can't tell if you're fascinated by him or afraid of him," Heath said once the door was locked. He wiped his hands on a wet wipe and tossed into a garbage bin nearby. Legault grinned and walked with him back to his side of the truck, opening the door and gesturing for Heath to go in.  
  
"What can I say? He's intriguing. Almost as much as his caretaker."  
  
Heath regarded him with suspicion before climbing in and taking his seat. Legault shut the door and made for his side, and in the span of time it took for Legault to enter the car, Linus turned back and said: "Don't let his flirting get to you; he never means it."  
  
"Never usually means it," Lloyd added.  
  
"Uh, thanks?" Heath said. Legault climbed in the truck, and they were off again.  
  
  
 **Day 2 — 00:22**  
  
Someone shook Heath awake. When he opened his eyes, he found Legault jostling his arm.  
  
"Huh?" Heath asked, blinking into awareness. "Is something wrong?"  
  
"Is Hyperion all right?" Lloyd asked from the driver's seat. "We can hear him making sounds from the back."  
  
Linus let out a snore as Heath closed his eyes and listened. There was a muffled rumbling noise coming from the back. He chucked and leaned back.  
  
"He's just snoring."  
  
"Wyverns snore?" Lloyd asked as Hyperion and Linus both let out another snore at the same time. "Looks like we've got two snorers with us tonight."  
  
"I didn't need that sleep anyway," Legault said with a wry smile. "Just don't ask me to take over driving for you, Lloyd. I'd hate to be eaten by that giant one back at the reserve."  
  
  
 **Day 2 — 13:05**  
  
 _"Panda, panda, panda shoots! Pan-pan-pan-pan-panda shoots!"_  
  
"Change the channel," Legault said. "Change it right now."  
  
"What do you have against this song anyway?" Linus said, moving his back and forth to the beat of the music. "Yeah, it's stupid, but it's catchy."  
  
Legault glared at the back of his head. "I have no idea how you can listen to the vulgar nonsense. Lloyd," he added when Lloyd began to sing along softly to the song, "don't you dare start."  
  
The brothers exchanged looks for a brief moment, then started singing in unison with the radio.  
  
 _"Panda, panda, panda shoots! Pan-pan-pan-pan-panda shoots!"_  
  
Legault glared at them for the duration of the song.  
  
  
 **Day 2 — 19:46**  
  
They got dinner at a drive-through, then headed towards a nature park so that Hyperion could get some fresh air. The park had been notified beforehand that the four of them were coming through, and there was a sectioned-off area reserved for them to let Hyperion out for a moment and stretch his wings.  
  
"Good boy," Heath said as he sat next the wyvern, who was flapping his wings and trying to bite a flower off a blooming tree. He bit into his hamburger and watched Hyperion walk around, poking his snout into various things here and there.  
  
"What a docile animal," Legault said as he approached the two of them. "I keep expecting him to do something."  
  
"Hyperion's been around people since he was born. He's young, too—only a year and a half old. I've been with him ever since he was born, so he kind of sees me as family."  
  
Legault was silent as he observed Hyperion flap his wings more vigorously until the wyvern went into flight. "Is he going to fly away?"  
  
"No, he knows that we can only be in a limited area. He'll keep close."  
  
Legault hummed in acknowledgment and watched Hyperion fly around in small circles above their heads. "It must be nice," he said as he turned his gaze to Heath, "to have such a strong bond of trust."  
  
Heath peered at him over his hamburger. "You say that like you don't have anyone you trust."  
  
"Oh, don't get me wrong. I trust those two," Legault said, pointing his thumb towards Linus and Lloyd, "and the rest of the company like family. Hell, they are my family. But trusting people and trusting something like a wyvern are two completely things. Animals are simple. They can't betray or scheme behind your back, you know? It's not as if you'll wake up one night with Hyperion holding a knife against your neck."  
  
Heath stared at him, uncertain as to how to reply. His uncertainty must have been obvious, because Legault chuckled and patted him on the shoulder. "My, my, you really take everything seriously, don't you? Don't pay any mind to what I just said. It was just polite conversation. That's all."  
  
Legault walked away, and Heath lowered his hamburger. Hyperion decided to land on the transport truck, and the two of them looked at each other. Hyperion cocked its head, let out a cry, and then bit one of the side-view mirrors off the truck. Heath dropped his hamburger onto the dirt.  
  
"Hyperion! No! Bad! Spit that out right now!"  
  
  
 **Day 3 — 14:52**  
  
The side-view mirror on the passenger side was wobbling in its duct tape confines when they pulled into Lycia University's zoology department. The four of them climbed out and stretched as one of the professors came out.  
  
"Oh, wonderful!" he said as he approached. "I didn't expect you all to get here so fast! I beg my pardon, how rude of me to not introduce myself first. My name is Canas; I'm a visiting professor here and the one who will be taking care of the wonderful creature in the back for the evening."  
  
"Lloyd Reed," Lloyd said, extending his hand. "Thank you for helping us with this. It'll be good to be able to sleep on a bed again."  
  
Canas blinked owlishly at him as they shook hands. "You've been driving non-stop here? No wonder you all arrived so quickly. Well, we have the hotel rooms already reserved for the four of you, so please feel free to make your way over and get some rest." Canas smiled and walked to the back of the truck, where Hyperion had stuck his head out and was looking around the area curiously. "What a magnificent animal! I'd read in a book that wyverns were all white and normally appear in lakes... And it said that they cry 'Scraw!' from time to time. It was obviously wrong about their appearance, but I wonder if they do really cry 'Scraw!' to communicate."  
  
Hyperion stared at Canas. So did Heath. "Uh," he said, "is this your first time seeing a wyvern?"  
  
"Not at all! I saw one when I went to visit the reserve. ...Ah, granted, the woman there fed it the books I was carrying, so it was not the best of first impressions."  
  
Linus tried and failed to suppress a chuckle. Lloyd cleared his throat, and Legault took a step back and looked to his side. Heath watched as Canas attempted to communicate with Hyperion using squawks and suddenly began to wonder if Vaida knew just whom she had agreed to allow watch over Hyperion in Lycia.  
  
"You know," Heath said, walking up to Canas, "I think maybe it's time we get him moved. I'll just give you a hand with him, okay?"  
  
"Oh? Thank you. I did quite a bit of research to prepare for this day, but I'm afraid nothing compares to the advice from one who regularly works with wyverns. Tell me, is it true that they enjoy the taste of steel?"  
  
  
 **Day 3 — 16:27**  
  
Once Heath decided that Hyperion was left safely in the care of Canas's curious hands, Legault claimed that he knew of a nice place to sit and get coffee. He led them to a decently populated coffee shop in the middle of the university. Heath was a little self-conscious thanks to them smelling strongly of wyvern, but that feeling soon vanished once they stepped inside.  
  
There was a guy sitting near the entrance who was listening to a server. Once he saw Legault, however, he choked on his drink and did a spit take, covering what looked to be a fairly expensive laptop with coffee. He thumped on his chest while the server slapped his back, and after a few moments, he pointed to Legault and said, "You! And you two! What are you—"  
  
"Relax, Matthew," Legault said, looking entirely too amused for a man who just watched someone else choke. "We're not here for you."  
  
"It's been a while," Lloyd said, and Matthew gaped at them before suddenly standing up.  
  
"I'm going to back to make a phone call. You don't mind, do you, Guy?"  
  
Before the server had a chance to reply, Matthew took off, jogging towards the back while pulling out a cell phone.  
  
"Do you know him?" Heath asked Legault as Matthew ran through a door marked as "Employees Only" while punching in a number on his phone. Legault smiled.  
  
"Angry ex-boyfriend," he explained.  
  
"Stop with your blatant lies!" Matthew yelled, poking his head through the door before retreating to the back again.  
  
"I-I didn't say you could go back there," the server said, stomping after Matthew. Heath took this chance to wander away from the other three and walk up to the counter.  
  
There was a pretty redhead waiting for him with a smile. "Welcome to the Lycian League," she said. "How may I help you today?"  
  
Heath suddenly found himself self-conscious about his smell again. "What would you recommend?"  
  
"Let's see... If you want coffee, our house blend is quite popular. If you're looking for something sweeter, our white mocha latte is very good. We also—"  
  
The rest of her explanation was cut short when Matthew ran out of the back room, slamming the doors open with so much force that they smacked against the sides of wall. "I don't love you, you harpy," he yelled towards the back, and then clutched his cellphone close and said urgently into it, "No, no! I wasn't talking to you, Leila. I was talking to—Wait, what? When? I thought—"  
  
He zoomed out of the shop, pursued angrily by a woman with pink hair.  
  
"Matthew!" she cried, "How rude! You can't just walk up to a girl and tell her you hate her! Matthew! Matthew! Are you listening, Matthew?!"  
  
She stormed out after him, and the server from earlier meandered out from the back with a pained expression on his face. "I'm...taking a break for a moment," he said to the redhead at the counter before flopping on a chair at one of the tables and putting his head down on the surface.  
  
The redhead looked torn between embarrassment and mortification as Linus walked up to the counter. "Lycians are fucking weird," he muttered.  
  
  
 **Day 4 — 07:22**  
  
"Thank you again for the privilege of allowing me to observe Hyperion for the night," Canas said once the wyvern was put in the truck again. "I feel as if I've learned a great deal about them, far more than anything a book alone could have taught me."  
  
"Not at all," Heath said, dusting his hands off before shaking hands with Canas. "Thank you for watching him and for the hotel rooms as well."  
  
"No thanks needed! After all, I had quite the selfish reason for agreeing to this. Speaking of, could I ask for a favor?"  
  
"It would depend on what it was, but sure," Lloyd said, walking up to the two of them. "What is it?"  
  
"I just need you to deliver a letter to someone. My good friend, Pent Reglay, is the professor who requested Hyperion in the first place. He is also good friends with my wife's sister. If you could give this letter to him, he'll give it to her. I would mail it, but it contains pictures of my wife and sister-in-law's parents, and we don't have any other copies."  
  
"We'd be happy to," Lloyd said, and Canas smiled and produced an envelope.  
  
"Thank you so much," he said as Lloyd took the envelope. "My niece has been compiling a family album, and these photographs would make her quite happy."  
  
Lloyd read the name written on the envelope and dropped his mouth in shock. "Nino— Ah, is she is a young girl, about seventeen or eighteen now, very bright, very energetic, green hair?"  
  
"Yes, yes she is! Do you know her?"  
  
Lloyd smiled as he pocked the envelope. "Our father is friends with her father. Linus and I babysat her several times when she was younger."  
  
Canas laughed. "What a small world! But now I really do feel assured that those pictures will reach her now. Thank you once more for doing this."  
  
  
 **Day 4 — 13:49**  
  
 _"Panda, panda, panda shoots! Pan-pan-pan-pan-panda shoots!"_  
  
"I swear I am going to kill the two of you in your sleep one day."  
  
  
 **Day 5 — 11:14**  
  
Lloyd and Legault had switched seats, and Lloyd was sleeping in the back seat while Legault sat in the passenger seat. Heath was in the back of the truck with Hyperion, petting and talking with it as the truck drove towards Aquleia. Hyperion awoke from its dozing state and raised his head, nudging Heath's arm with his snout.  
  
"You're pretty sick of being cooped up in here again, aren't you?" Heath said. Hyperion yawned and set his head back down. "Well, according to the GPS, we should be able to make it there the day after tomorrow if we don't stop for too long. You can hang on for a little while longer, right?"  
  
Hyperion swished his tail, hitting the side of the truck in the process. He lifted his head up, turned it towards a bucket nearby, and bit it in half. Heath stared at him as he chewed, decided he didn't like the way it tasted, and the spit out a crushed ball of metal that the bucket had become.  
  
"...We're going to have to do something about your eating habits, I hope you realize."  
  
Hyperion made a disappointed rumbling sound in the back of his throat.  
  
  
 **Day 6 — 07:21**  
  
Legault was driving.  
  
"Don't turn the radio on," he said as Linus reached for the controls. "I know you're just going to find a station playing that awful song again."  
  
"Tch, ruin my fun," Linus said, but it didn't stop him from turning the radio on and messing with the tuning. Legault reached over and turned it off as Linus was browsing, causing Linus to protest loudly and turn it back on.  
  
"Come on," Lloyd muttered from the back seat, eyes still closed. "I'm trying to sleep here."  
  
"Which is why you shouldn't turn the radio on, Linus," Legault said as he turned it off again. "Your poor brother's been driving all night. Let him get some rest."  
  
"He sleeps better with background music." The radio came on again.  
  
"I don't drive better with background music." The radio went off.  
  
"Now's a good time to start getting better!" The radio came on.  
  
"Maybe," Heath said as Legault turned the radio off again, "I should switch places with Linus."  
  
Legault looked back with a raised eyebrow. "Oh? Miss me?"  
  
"Watch the road," Lloyd said, which was impressive, because Heath didn't see him open his eyes.  
  
"I suggested it," Heath said as Legault turned to face the front again, Linus switching on the radio once more in the process, "because Linus won't be able to turn the radio on from the back."  
  
"Come on, Heath," Linus said as Legault turned the radio off. "Don't tell me you're siding with him!"  
  
"I never actually liked that song to begin with, and I'm getting really sick of it now."  
  
"Finally! A man with good taste," Legault said, smacking Linus's hand away as he attempted to turn the radio on. "Heath, I think I'm beginning to fall in love with you."  
  
"On second thought, maybe I'll just stay in the back."  
  
  
 **Day 6 — 18:28**  
  
"Hey," Linus asked once Heath got out of the convenience store, "what happened to all the stuff in the back of the truck?"  
  
"...What do you mean?"  
  
"I mean it's gone! Also, the wyvern looks sick. He's not gonna die on us or something, is he?  
  
Heath shoved the bag at Linus and ran back to the truck. The back door was open, and Hyperion was curled up into a ball, looking utterly pathetic as he raised his head and gave Heath a sad look.  
  
The truck was a lot emptier than Heath remembered it being.  
  
"Did it eat it all?" Linus asked as he walked close. "It ate everything, didn't it? No, wait, I still see some of its feed in the bag! What the hell, it got cravings?"  
  
"Hyperion," Heath groaned as he leaned against the side of the truck, "what did you do?"  
  
Hyperion belched in reply.  
  
  
 **Day 7 — 00:01**  
  
"You're speeding," Lloyd said.  
  
"I know," Legault said, pushing down on the gas even more. "We'll be fine; there's no one else on this road."  
  
"That's not the point. Why are you speeding?"  
  
"We're four hundred and fifty miles from Aquelia. Going at sixty miles an hour, it will take us seven and a half hours to reach our destination. Going at ninety miles an hour, it will only take us five."  
  
"Legault," Lloyd said, "it'll be five in the morning when we get there if you keep driving this fast! No one will be up! Slow down!"  
  
Heath had been gripping the edge of his seat and the door since twenty minutes ago. Next to him, Linus slumbered on, completely unaware that their vehicle was going twenty miles over the speed limit.  
  
"I don't feel entirely safe right now," he said, and Legault turned back to smirk at him. Before he could say anything, though, Lloyd reached out and yanked him back to facing the road.  
  
"Watch the road!" Lloyd said, and Legault sighed but did not look back again.  
  
They argued for another five minutes about whether to keep driving at the speed they were currently going at or not before Lloyd pointed to a sign that went by far too quickly for Heath to get a good look at.  
  
"There's a rest stop at the next exit," Lloyd said. "I want you to take it and let me drive."  
  
"Lloyd, I don't think—"  
  
"Do it," Lloyd said with a tone of finality, and Legault actually began to slow down. Heath loosened his grip slightly. Linus snored.  
  
  
 **Day 7 — 08:42**  
  
"Oh, I'm glad to see you're all fine and well. How was the trip?"  
  
No one answered him at first. Lloyd finally sighed and said, "Decent, but long."  
  
Pent laughed. "I can imagine. Well, you've made it to your destination in one piece, so feel free to rest for a while. If you would like to stay at a hotel for a few days, I can make reservations for you. Don't worry about paying for it; you've done me a great service by delivering the wyvern to us."  
  
"We'll take that offer for tonight," Lloyd said, "but we've got to be going tomorrow morning. There's another job waiting for us already."  
  
Pent nodded. "Perfectly understandable. Now, just let me let the others know that you're here."  
  
"I'll come with you," Heath said, stifling a yawn. "I'm supposed to be working with you until the four months are over."  
  
Pent nodded. "Of course. I'll be inside, calling the others. I'm afraid not all of them are up yet, so it will take a while before everyone is gathered. After we get Hyperion settled, why don't the four of you get something to eat?"  
  
After they moved Hyperion to his temporary habitation and Lloyd passed Canas's delivery to Pent, Heath went with the other three to a small place that Pent had recommended. He ordered a large coffee and an omelet, and he spent the breakfast conversing lightly with the other three. After they paid their bill, they returned to the university building.  
  
"It was a pleasure working with you," Lloyd said, extending his hand for Heath to shake. "We'll be back in four months to pick you up."  
  
"We can leave Legault behind if you'd like," Linus added as Heath and Lloyd shook hands.  
  
"Please, I was just having a little fun and joking around," Legault said. He paused, then added, "You were aware that I was just joking, right?"  
  
"I caught onto it eventually," Heath said dryly as he shook Legault's hand. The other man smiled.  
  
"Ah, well, eventually is better than never at all."  
  
"Hey," Linus said once it was his turn to shake hands with Heath, "if you ever need anything, keep us in mind. The Black Fang will do anything!"  
  
"Almost anything," Lloyd quickly added. "Within reason."  
  
Heath laughed. "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, you guys. It was...an interesting experience."  
  
"One way to put it," Legault muttered. "Well, we'll be heading towards the hotel now. Have fun with the academics."  
  
"We'll see if we can drop by again before we leave tomorrow," Lloyd said as they climbed back into the truck. "It was nice meeting you, Heath!"  
  
"Same here," Heath shouted after them. The truck doors closed, the engine came to life, and the three of them drove away. Heath watched the truck go as Pent made his way out.  
  
"It seems like they're quite nice people," Pent said. "Now, I'm sure you're tired, but could I ask you to just spend an hour or two meeting everyone? We'll let you rest afterward, I promise."  
  
"I don't mind," Heath said, and Pent laughed in delight.  
  
"Wonderful! By the way, since you're going to be here for four months, I was thinking that you could stay with my wife, my son, and I at our house. We have several guest rooms for you to choose from. I figured that would be better than staying at a hotel or subletting an apartment, but if it makes you feel uncomfortable, I can set up something for you."  
  
"I— ...No, that's fine. Are you sure I won't be in the way, though?"  
  
"Not at all! You can help my wife choose the color of the nursery while Erk and I are doing research. She's pregnant, by the way! She thinks we're going to be having a son, and I won't disagree with her until proven otherwise. It's so exciting, since this is our..."  
  
Pent chatted eagerly about his family all the way to where the other students and teachers were waiting for them.


End file.
